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Are Most Modern Day Heathens Atheists?

Apologies if this question has been asked before, but how do modern day Heathens feel about faith? I have been under the impression that most who call themselves Heathens are simply atheists with a taste for/fascination with Germanic mythology. What about the Heathens on this board? Do you believe in the existence of some sort of deities? Do you worship them or engage in various rituals? Otherwise, how does being a Heathen translate to spiritually in your case? Thank you!

Being a heathen and believing in the existence of one or more god(s) precludes them being an Atheist. Some may claim to be one of the The Faithful, and be in it just for the experience and have no real faith whatsoever, but that's between them and the god(s) to sort out between themselves (or not).

Apologies if this question has been asked before, but how do modern day Heathens feel about faith? I have been under the impression that most who call themselves Heathens are simply atheists with a taste for/fascination with Germanic mythology. What about the Heathens on this board? Do you believe in the existence of some sort of deities? Do you worship them or engage in various rituals? Otherwise, how does being a Heathen translate to spiritually in your case? Thank you!

While I can't speak for all, I'm going to try and answer your questions and some of the other posters as well, the best I can.

You ask about faith, I have none I believe in fate. Faith to me is believing without actually knowing or having facts, fate is how things happen and it is cast for you and you should not go against it.

No I'm not a Atheist as I believe that our Gods exist in us as they are our ancestors but they are also the controllers of nature, of course it gets more complicated than just what I stated here.

Do I "worship" our Gods well yes in a sense, but it's mostly that I honor and acknowledge their existence. Do I bow my head, kneel or grovel at the feet of our Gods- NO and why would I, I'm not their slave.

Yes I do slight rituals such as Yule and Midsummer and certain events such as weddings, births and funerals. ( see pictures of ourselves thread, I'm proclaiming my love for my wife to the Gods) I wear a hammer pendant as does my wife and sometimes we offer sacrifices for protection and to honor the Gods.

Well I hope this at least answers some of your questions.

---see I can behave and not bash the jeebus worshipers, well almost behave

Life is like a fire hydrant- sometimes you help people put out their fires, but most of the time you just get peed on by every dog in the neighborhood.

I sincerely appreciate and understand your comments. At 73 years I have "belonged" to various Christian groups through life - Dutch Reformed, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian,.... I was also trained as an anthropologist/archaeologist and spent years studying "primitive" cultures. When I recently found that Radboud (Redbad, the Frisian chiefdom) was one of my forebears on my maternal grandmother's side, I read about him and the relationship between Christianity and the Frisian peoples. As he was about to be baptized, he questioned the priest about being with his father after death. The priest told him no because they were never baptized. Radboud responded that he would rather spend eternity in hel (see Norse definition) with his forefathers than eternity in heaven with his enemies. At that time I started reading about Norse beliefs and decided that I would follow the paths of my forefathers since I am Frisian heritage, free, and not obligated to follow a belief system forced on my people. I, too, wear Thor's hammer and acknowledge the spirits of nature. We take from this planet and we must give back and thank nature for providing for us. Look to Native American and other "primitive" beliefs.

Pagans and Christians are in the same situation as far as their religions are concerned. Sentimentality is commonplace, they adorn their deities with names and titles, cherish rituals and dead languages. Since they have largely forgotten why they practice these rites, Jewry maintains an overwhelming advantage over both sides.

The pagans are better off than the Christians, but the skeptics are better off than both.

Thank you to those who have answered my questions, this is interesting.

Originally Posted by Johan the Blind

Being a heathen and believing in the existence of one or more god(s) precludes them being an Atheist. Some may claim to be one of the The Faithful, and be in it just for the experience and have no real faith whatsoever, but that's between them and the god(s) to sort out between themselves (or not).

I understand that to some Heathens, their beliefs are personal, however others may like to practice it in a public/organized manner. I am aware that there are sites online that describe their beliefs, however that was not what my question was about. I am rather interested in how various Heathen individuals perceive/experience their beliefs personally.

Originally Posted by SpearBrave

You ask about faith, I have none I believe in fate. Faith to me is believing without actually knowing or having facts, fate is how things happen and it is cast for you and you should not go against it.

By faith I meant more like a general belief in something. I did not want to call it a religion because not everyone considers their set of beliefs a religion. When you say "fate is how things happen and it is cast for you and you should not go against it", do you mean that you believe in some sort of predetermined path that is established for you by the gods, nature, etc.?

Do I "worship" our Gods well yes in a sense, but it's mostly that I honor and acknowledge their existence. Do I bow my head, kneel or grovel at the feet of our Gods- NO and why would I, I'm not their slave.

This is one of the worst aspects of Church worship.

A Methodist friend of my wife's used to hate all the "your humble servant" "forgive my sins" "I'm not worthy" subservience and eventually stopped going.

My wife tried to persuade her to re-attend but she refused, saying it was bad for her self-esteem. I can quite easily imagine this!

I haven't noticed anything similar within Pagan circles. The gods are certainly revered but not to this sycophantic extent. I think most of the time the deference remains within rather than taking the form of public displays of humility.

This may have much to do with the organised, hierarchical structure of the Church as opposed to the more informal, individualistic and 'folkish' nature of Paganism.